Excellence Track

The Excellence Track is a certificate program designed as an extension of the Master of Science Physics program of JGU for students interested in research and intending to pursue a subsequent doctorate. The program is aimed at high-achieving, research-oriented students and enables them to further develop their scientific knowledge as well as complementary and transferable skills in a structured program. Students who successfully complete the “Excellence Track” together with their Master degree will be considered strong candidates for a doctorate in one of the research groups.

Structure and content

In order to successfully complete the Excellence Track, students must acquire a minimum of 23 credit points in addition to the regular two years Master's program. These credit points are distributed over two categories:

Scientific Competence and Complementary and Transferable Skills.

All courses must be successfully completed before submission of the Master's thesis. Graduates of the Excellence Track will receive a certificate attesting the additional academic achievements and qualifications.

 

Admission and requirements

If not already enrolled as a student at JGU, candidates must submit their application for the Excellence Track together with the application for the regular Master's program in Physics. Alternatively, if they are already matriculated as Master students, the enrolment in the Excellence Track must be completed before the start of the second semester of the Master program.

Admission to the Excellence Track requires a completed Bachelor’s degree in physics with a very good academic track record, that has lasted no longer than one semester over the standard period of study.

Applicants should rank in the top 15% of graduates of the bachelor's program in physics at their previous university. Admission can also be achieved by excellent grades at the end of the first master's semester at JGU.

A selection committee decides on the admission to the Excellence Track after reviewing the applications and interviewing suitable candidates.

 

Student scholarship

A limited number of students of the Excellence Track program can apply for financial support. These scholarships are endowed with €934 per month for a maximum duration of two years.

These scholarships are awarded through a highly competitive process based on academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and further qualifications such as experience abroad or internships.

 

Application

For your application to be considered, 1) please fill in the application form, 2) send your complete application documents as a single pdf file to xtrack@uni-mainz.de before 31 March 2024. Letters of recommendations should be sent separately to the same E-Mail address.

 

Application form

Please follow this link to fill in the application form "Excellence Track".

 

Application documents

  • Cover letter including a short motivation statement
  • Detailed curriculum vitae
  • Copy of the Bachelor's degree certificate with a Transcript of Records in German or English
  • Copy of the proof of admission to the Master's program at JGU
    (If you have not received a letter of admission yet, you can also send a copy of the confirmation of receipt of your application for the M.Sc. program at JGU Mainz or a screenshot of the submission of your application documents for now. However, the proof of admission must be submitted later.)
  • One signed letter of recommendation by a senior scientist, with institutional letterhead, to be sent separately.
  • When applying for a scholarship, please state your reasons for applying for financial support.

All documents may be submitted in English or German. Documents in any other language must be translated and legally certified.


Further information can be obtained from the coordinators of the Mainz Physics Academy, Dr. Victoria Durant and Freya Luberg (xtrack@uni-mainz.de).